His fingers found the marks on the collar. Lykos had added a rune, ensuring the collar did not merely mark Christophe as a possession, but Lykos’s possession. He slid his fingers a bit further and found the seam, then took his hand away when he heard Lykos stir. Lykos gave him a slight frown. “You wake early.”

“I…” He hesitated. “I was thinking about my mother. By now she probably knows I’m…” He exhaled.

Then he felt Lykos’s hand on his shoulder. “Can get phone, go where there is signal. You call, tell her you are alive.”

He smiled. “You’d let me?”

“I have no grudge against your mother.” Lykos nodded.

“Thank you, master.” Christophe slid off the side of the cot, going to his knees as Lykos sat up. Lykos’s fingers tangled in his hair as the man guided Christophe’s mouth onto his cock. Christophe used his tongue to caress the shaft, feeling Lykos grow harder as he did. A slight bit of pressure on the back of his head made him try to take the man in deeper. He gagged when Lykos’s cock hit the back of his throat, shifting slightly to suppress the reflex before attempting to take him still deeper. Lykos made an appreciative sound.

Even after a couple weeks of practice, he still couldn’t manage the full length. He drew back a little and began using his lips and tongue, sliding over the shaft tenderly. Lykos kept hold of his head, a gentle but firm pressure to ensure Christophe kept at his morning task. The morning he’d tried refusing, Lykos had allowed it. But he’d also left Christophe in the cave with only a five-foot length of chain for the duration of the day.

After a couple weeks though, he’d started to learn how to please Lykos. It didn’t take long before the man’s cock began twitching in his mouth. Christophe sealed his lips and swallowed before lifting his head. Lykos caressed his hair. “Good boy.”

“Thank you, master.” He rose to go make breakfast.

#

Having a pet was nice. His Christophe was proving to be an excellent servant. The young man’s skill with his mouth was improving, as had his skills at cooking on a camp stove. As was becoming their habit, after breakfast they walked a bit. Christophe still had trouble with more subtle trail signs, but he could identify tracks and scat with acceptable accuracy. He was also coming to learn how to find edibles in the woods. Winter would be on them soon, and this area was prone to some snow. It was also far more difficult to hide their presence with snow to reveal tracks.

The last time he’d taunted the captain had been a couple hundred miles from this location. The cave was comfortable and secure, and he was loathe to leave it. There was not another location as suitable for miles, unless he wished to venture back into ‘civilized’ living. A human domicile did not appeal to him, and he was concerned such a thing might prove difficult for Christophe. Cities held much in the way of distraction, and that could be detrimental to training. People grew soft in cities.

As Christophe dug some roots, Lykos bent and put his hand on the ground. He cast out his senses almost reflexively, then jerked his hand off the ground and stared. Here?

“Master?” He looked up to see Christophe giving him a concerned look. “Master, is everything alright?”

Carefully he put his hand back down, casting his senses. No. Not here. Still distant, barely on the edge. It should not be a surprise. They did travel. And they did not have the same ability to speak with the earth. “Yes.” He stood, then shrugged. “A dragon passed, hundred miles that way.” He pointed. “Closer than I like them to be.”

“A drag…” Christophe stared as though he could actually see it by looking. After a moment, he glanced back at Lykos. “How far away do you generally like them?”

“If choice was mine?” Lykos shrugged. “Two galaxies over.”

#

His hands shook a little as he dialed the phone. His mother picked up on the third ring. “This is Sandra.”

“Mom?” He heard the tremor in his voice.

“Christophe.” She gasped. “Oh my god, Christophe. Are you alright? Where are you? Are you hurt? Are you safe? Do I need to come get you?”

“I’m okay, Mom.” He couldn’t give details. “I’m uh…”

“Where are you? I’ll come get you right now.” He could hear her start bustling around, and dimly make out the sound of car keys.

“You can’t, Mom.”

“I…” She trailed off. “Christophe?”

“He’s letting me call you to let you know I’m alright, but uh…” He looked at where Lykos was sitting. “What has Dad told you?”

“He said you were a hostage.” Fury filled her voice. “And that the rest was classified. That…”

“I’m…” Christophe exhaled. “I’m not really a hostage, but I am sort of still a prisoner, Mom. I can’t —”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m safe, alright. He isn’t hurting me at all. He’s just really pissed at Dad and uh…” He winced. “It’s complicated. And classified. But I’m alright, Mom. I swear.”

“Christophe…” Her voice broke a little. “Honey, where are you? Just tell me where you are.”

“I can’t, Mom. I’m sorry. I love you.”

“I love you so much. If whoever he…” Her voice became fierce. “You tell him if he hurts you I will personally skin him alive and dunk him in boiling salted lemon juice.” Her voice got louder. “You hear me? You hurt my boy and I will put your testicles in the blender while they are still attached!”

Lykos tilted his head at the phone. Christophe winced a little. “Mom —”

“And then I will stick an umbrella up your ass and open it.”

“I love you, Mom.”

Her voice softened again. “Be safe, Christophe. Please.”

“I’ll try.” He hung up the phone and handed it back to Lykos, who immediately turned it off again. “She uh…” He started to shrug.

Guerin headed down the hall. Wotan was in the door of Darin’s office. Guerin attempted to push him aside, and glared when the man didn’t budge a millimeter. He moved past him. “Sandra just called. Christophe called her. He’s alive.”

Darin immediately began tapping in the information for a trace. “If it’s a landline we can get the location, but if it’s a cell we’ll only be able to get the tower. Though if it bounced off more than one we could triangulate and get a little more accuracy that way.”

Wotan raised an eyebrow. “Christophe was allowed to call his mother? What was said?”

He glared at the son of a bitch. “He told Sandra he was safe and that thing hadn’t hurt him.” He doubted the veracity of the statement. “Told her the only reason he’s still a prisoner is the thing has a grudge against me. But he couldn’t tell her where he was. She said she was pretty sure it was listening in on the conversation.”

“Alright…” Darin looked up. “We’ve got enough to figure out what direction it headed after the last time we had a sighting, but it’s still a lot of territory.”

“And since he’s been tracked by a phone once, he would have moved immediately after the call.” Wotan nodded.

“It’s —”

“He.” Wotan’s voice was firm. “Is not stupid, Captain. And it would be best you remember that.”

“If he wasn’t stupid…” Guerin shook his head. “He never would have laid hands on my son.”

#

When he tugged the leash, Christophe started to go obediently to his knees. Lykos caught his arm, and instead moved him to bend over the cot. Christophe went still at the motion, and Lykos rubbed his back soothingly. Slowly, Christophe began relaxing, though he stayed quiet. Lykos oiled his fingers, and massaged Christophe’s shoulder as he slowly slid a finger inside. Christophe tensed again at the motion, and made a small sound. “Relax, my Christophe.”

“Yes, master.” Christophe nodded.

He used his foot to spread Christophe’s legs further apart, giving him better access. Then he leaned forward and kissed Christophe’s back, just below where the collar rested on his neck. He worked his finger, making Christophe moan a little. “You like?”

“I…” Christophe gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t know.”

Lykos nodded before adding a second finger. Christophe was tight, and virginal. Ensuring he didn’t hurt his pet was going to require careful preparation. He moved slowly, rubbing Christophe’s back as he stretched the entrance to Christophe’s body. Then he nibbled lightly at Christophe’s shoulder, making the young man squirm a little. He put some of his weight atop Christophe to keep him in place. “Where going?”

“That tickles.” Christophe squirmed as Lykos nibbled at him again.

“Hmmm…” He shifted so he was behind Christophe, still using his weight to press Christophe into the cot. He kept working his fingers with one hand, then reached with his other to lightly caress Christophe’s own cock. Christophe gasped in response. “You like?”

“I…” Christophe made a breathless sound as Lykos continued fondling him. “Yes.”

“Good.” He continued stroking Christophe as he removed his fingers, then guided his cock to Christophe’s entrance. “I am going to claim you now, Christophe.”

Beneath him, Christophe tensed again for a moment. He took a deep breath. “Yes, master.”

#

He could feel Lykos pressing at his entrance, but he could also feel Lykos’s hand stroking him. Hands that could crush diamonds and shape metal, yet were gentle when they touched him. He concentrated on the feeling of Lykos’s hand on his dick.

A soft cry escaped him as Lykos began pushing inside. It felt strange, tight and full as his master’s cock filled him. Lykos’s movements were slow but relentless, and Christophe found himself arching his back. With one hand, Lykos continued fondling him, while the other reached up to touch his shoulder. Christophe swallowed, then took a deep breath. “I can take it.”

“My Christophe?” Lykos’s voice answered.

His Christophe. Lykos had begun calling him that after he’d hung on the cross. “I can take it, master.”

Then he cried out as Lykos drove himself all the way inside with a single thrust. Christophe arched in response to the invasion, then moaned as he felt the caresses on his own cock increase in intensity. Lykos begin thrusting in steady rhythm, his hand working over Christophe’s cock in matching time.

Christophe realized he was also moving, pushing back to meet the thrusts as Lykos entered him over and over. It felt good. Some tiny part of his brain was telling him he should be ashamed, sickened by the fact he was enjoying himself. The rest of his mind drowned that part out, and to his shock he heard his own voice. “Harder.”

Lykos pulled back on the collar, taking away some of Christophe’s air as he pulled Christophe back to meet the thrust. He threw his head back to gain back some of his breath, and the motion made his back arch, allowing Lykos to thrust still deeper. It seemed unreal, his mind losing track of anything but the feeling of being caressed and ridden. Lykos distilled his body to primal instinct.

Another thrust, and then Christophe cried out as he came, his entire body shuddering with the release. He heard Lykos give an answering cry as the man began twitching inside him. He moaned as the world swam around him, and Lykos released his collar. Christophe sucked in a full breath, then another. And then he heard himself let out a small laugh.

“You like?” Lykos’s voice sounded out of breath.

“Yes…” Christophe panted. “Master.”

#

He scooped his Christophe up into his arms and carried him into the bath. The water was already prepared. Lykos stepped up on the small ladder he’d made, and then stepped into the tub. He sank into the water, Christophe in his lap. Christophe stretched his legs out a bit turning to get comfortable as he rested his head on Lykos’s shoulder. Lykos kept an arm around him.

Lykos was just starting to relax a little when Christophe spoke. “I used to play the violin.”

“You said.” Lykos nodded.

“There was a boy, in the class. He played the violin too. I remember…” Christophe exhaled. “We kissed. Just once. I was thirteen.”

“Christophe?” Lykos rubbed his arm.

“My father threw away the violin.” Christophe swallowed. “Threw it in the trash can. I watched from the window as it went into the truck’s compactor. I’d almost forgotten.” He shook his head. “It’s not natural.”

“The dragons asked us. Teach humans to work metal. Help them survive, grow stronger. Told my kind and our kin to see humans as flock, be their shepherds. Humans resisted at first. They did not want to learn. It was not natural.” He held Christophe close. “Some called my kind demon. Evil. Unnatural. They were afraid.”

“Afraid.” Christophe slowly nodded. “Humans don’t have a good track record with things they fear.”